To Harm a Brother
by DzAngel
Summary: What happens when the brothers are faced with the hardest mission of their lives? In order to save their King they have to sacrifice a brother, will they be able to do it, or will the entire mission crumble before them? Rated M for violence, language, future dark scenes and mentions of rape. This is not a slash fic.
1. Chapter 1

**To Harm a Brother**

 **Chapter 1**

 ****Hello all! This is my first ever Fan-fiction so I really hope you enjoy, I have a good idea of where I want this story to go and I am so excited to share it with you. Please review as I want to make sure the fic is as good as I can make it make for you all!****

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Musketeer characters!**

D'Artagnan woke up abruptly to excessively loud banging on his door at the Bonacieux residence. Only clad in his smalls he barely had time to quickly cover himself with a sheet before the door burst open and the large figure of Porthos filled the doorframe. Porthos, Aramis, and Athos quickly clambered into his small room all looking expectantly at the young Gascon. Unfortunately, d'Artagnan was just woken up from a very deep sleep having been exhausted from the training Athos put him through the previous day and was currently lying in bed, half propped up by his elbow, staring at his three friends with a panicked and dumbstruck expression.

"I told you he would still be in bed," sighed Aramis while running a hand through his hair.

"I guess I assumed the boy would be a little more concerned for his future," Athos quietly retorted, the same smug expression resting on his face.

"Thos…not everyone shares the same vigilance as you do when it comes to performin' less than optimal tasks. Let the whelp be, he's still a growing kid and doesn't understand the demands of a soldierin' life," Porthos replied all the while watching the "boy" in question carefully.

Athos sighed again, clearly still annoyed but less smug, "Alright, get up d'Artagnan…we have things to do so make haste."

"Mmm that reminds me I wonder if Madam Bonacieux would be willing to make up a quick breakfast for us, we left so quickly to come get d'Art that I forgot to eat anything," Aramis questioned while turning to leave the room with the others.

Athos gave him "the look" and retorted, "I doubt it considering we woke her up and she was less than happy with us. Also, who is hungry at this hour?"

"Me" "Me" Aramis and Porthos responded in unison.

Athos shook his head muttering something about being surrounded by children and proceeded to leave the room. Throughout this entire altercation d'Artagnan didn't move, just stared up at his friends trying to determine if he was still dreaming or not, and if he wasn't why his friends were standing in his room annoyed about him still being in bed when he clearly didn't remember having any plans today besides more rigorous training later with Athos.

As the three moved out of the room d'Artagnan quickly snapped out of his tired and dumbstruck mind and realized he still had no idea what was going on and what he was supposed to be getting ready for. And on top of that his mind quickly surmised that if his friends were here he either forgot something very important or something significant happened while he was sleeping, both of which now had the boy startled and confused.

"W-wait, hold on a second," he stuttered while wrestling his sheet to quickly clamber out of bed while trying to get the attention of his friends before they left his chambers. "What's going on? What time is it? Did something happen?"

Porthos was the first to respond to his clearly upset and frantic younger brother as he was the last to be leaving the room. He turned back with a gentle smile and a hint of playfulness as he walked back over to d'Artagnan and placed a large hand on his shoulder meant to calm. "Calm down whelp we are just messin' with ya, everything is fine as far as we know".

"What do you mean, as far as you know?"

"Treville summoned all of us to his office, we are to be there before dawn fit and ready for whatever orders he has. So we came to wake you as since you do not reside at the garrison, there is no other way to get a summons to you," Athos carefully chimed in.

D'Artagnan cast his eyes downward and sat back on his bed as he replied, "all of us?" He was still self-conscious of what he felt was his complete failure with Vadim even though everyone told him he did well.

"Yes all of us d'Art, why would you think you would not be included?" Aramis carefully sat next to his little brother, concern and an open look of expression passing over his features.

"No reason really…I just thought with me not being a musketeer and having almost cause the Queen to have all her valuables stolen I would be exempt from future missions," he muttered so quietly back Athos had to strain to hear from his standing position near the door.

Aramis sighed and smiled at the boy as he playfully ruffled his hair and got a less than impressed look from d'Artagnan, "Are you still upset about that? You have helped the regimen, Paris, the crown, and us more than you know these past couple months. You have been on many missions with us since that time and have proven yourself, you have not failed anyone". The Gascon looked up then at Aramis with a grateful expression, as the doubt in his heart and mind was slowly being etched away by his friends.

"In fact, you have done just the opposite pup, Treville and all of us trust you and see your potential. These missions are helpin' to train you up so one day when you do become a musketeer you will already have some experience behind your belt," Porthos said.

"It's true d'Artagnan, you need to prove yourself continuously. Not just anyone gets to become a musketeer, you are fighting for the King's commission and will need to go on many more missions before you are ready. We do believe you will one day become one of us, until that time training and missions will help give you the experience you need," Athos replied at first serious, but then a small smile bit ate the corners of his mouth, "that is when your dressed in a more acceptable way, you would not want Madam Bonacieux disgraced by seeing you in this fashion would you?"

Realization slowly dawned on d'Artagnan that he was sitting in only his smalls with the door wide open, and that Constance could walk by at any moment considering the early hour that she was awoken and the noise they were making. Quicker than the three musketeers have ever seen d'Artagnan move he was up and ushering his friends out the door muttering about putting on decent clothing and meeting them downstairs in the dining room.

"Well that got him movin'," Porthos laughed.

"My friend, nothing gets a young man moving faster than the thought of a beautiful woman seeing him in an embarrassing way," Aramis smiled back throwing an arm over his large friend's shoulders.

"Then how come you are always slow to move whenever surrounded by beautiful women? You have been put in many embarrassin' situations."

"What do _I_ have to be embarrassed about? That's what separates the men from the boys, dear Porthos, I am confident in myself no matter the situation and that's why women flock to me…they can sense the superior man in me." Aramis laughed as he entered the dining room causing Athos to roll his eyes and Porthos to scoff in return.

"Do you have _any_ idea what time it is?" Constance stormed into the room getting right up in the sharpshooters face, an almost feral look on her face, " _First_ you bang on my door before the sun is even up waking me up so you can fetch d'Artagnan, _then_ you don't even try to be respectful and keep your voices down while waking him, and _then_ you have the audacity to say that you are superior and women flock to you in my dining room while still keeping me awake! _You all_ need to learn some respect, but especially you Aramis, so hurry up and be on your way so some people can get back to bed!" With that Constance stormed back out of the room and brushed by d'Artagnan as he made his way into the living room while strapping on his weapons belt.

"What was that about?" d'Artagnan asked innocently.

"Haha, Aramis here was just getting' a dressin' down from the lady of the house for being his normal _superior_ self," Porthos laughed quietly.

Aramis wore a half shocked and embarrassed expression as he reached up and scratched the back of his head, "well…at least she didn't slap me this time."

"I think it is time we take our leave, we do not want to disrupt Madam Bonacieux any further and we need to get back to the barracks," Athos the always ever serious and responsible brother opened the front door and waved his arm ushering his friends out into the early morning streets of Paris.

As the four walked back to the garrison down the quiet streets Aramis and Porthos continued their friendly banter with each other, as Athos and d'Artagnan remained with their own thoughts. Athos glanced over at his two oldest friends as they became louder in their jests with one another and laughed inwardly at how the two always seemed to be fooling around, and how if it wasn't for the color of their skin one would actually think them to be of blood with the way they acted towards each other. Of course Athos felt the bond of brotherhood just as strongly with both Aramis and Porthos, and he knew they felt the same about him…he would gladly give his life for the two men who never gave up on him even in his darkest moments. The three fit together and each offered something to the small group they made.

Aramis was the best sharpshooter in all of France, possibly the world. He always watched his brother's backs and was unbelievably deadly in a fight, especially if one of his friends were ever in trouble. Aramis's soft and gentle nature had many fooled to think he was the easy one to pick off in a fight, but when angered he was downright scary. Not only were his shooting skills in a fight invaluable, but he was also their healer and unfortunately on more than one occasion had saved the life of one of his fallen brothers. Aramis was the one who wound heal a wound, but also help to mend a heart, he knew what to say in hard times but also had a silver tongue that could sway many minds…which is why he was always in so much trouble with women.

Porthos was the brawn of the group, almost a giant he could easily take on more men than any of them and come out victorious. He was the best at hand to hand combat and preferred fighting with the fist or random objects then a sword, but was still a master with the rapier or musket. Porthos was extremely loyal to a fault, and would gladly walk through hell and back without a question if his friends asked him to. He grew up in the court and although sometimes self-conscious of his background and skin color, he never let it stop him from becoming what he wanted. In fact, the skills he had learnt from the court were greatly used by the regimen, he was proficient in lock picking, moving quietly over rooftops, and also had many connections that no one in the regimen could ever dream of having. They were his brothers and best friends and he didn't like to imagine where he would be without the two idiots…but he had always felt like something was missing in his life even with his two best friends that kept him sane all these years.

With that thought he glanced over to his right at the oddly silent d'Artagnan, the boy who made the impossible happen by shoving himself right in the middle of their tightly knit group and becoming such an irreplaceable part of their weird family. Many new and older musketeers have tried and failed to become one of the _Inseparables_ , but this very young _kid_ managed what many have been trying before they even knew what he was doing. Athos looked again at his young friend and found himself once again contemplating on how this Gascon has changed so much for their group. D'Artagnan's fiery spirit and youthcaused the three to find a new pleasure and excitement in their missions, trainings, and even hell patrol. The three had a new determination to train the boy and their pride increased tenfold every time d'Art achieved a new goal or concurred a new skill. Not only that but their relationship with one another became even stronger, and they found that fighting as a quartet rivaled how they used to fight as a triplet. D'Artagnan was exactly what they had been missing all these years and was why they all were so determined to get d'Artagnan his commission…to solidify his place with them forever. That was why he went on every mission with them, and Treville saw this too and therefore it was now custom to include d'Artagnan in whatever the inseparables were doing. That being said Athos still could not figure out how a boy, who is young enough to be his son, could become so easily and quickly a cherished friend and brother of the three much older and seasoned men.

"You okay there d'Art? I don't think you have ever been this quiet before," while Athos was deep in though Aramis snuck around to d'Artagnan's other side and gave him a quick pat on the back.

"Huh…oh yea I'm fine, still just kind of tired I guess," the boy replied quietly.

"You're not still thinking about the Vadim incident are you? Cause if you are then you have not heard a single word we have said to you all this time".

D'Artagnan sighed gruffly and glanced at Aramis, both Athos and Porthos remained silent. "Kind of, it just all comes back every time we are about to go on a new mission. The last words Vadim said to me, how I gave everyone the wrong information and almost cost the Queen and King a great deal. I know you all say I didn't fail and that I am one of the reasons their majesties did not get robbed…but it doesn't feel that way, and I don't want it to happen again."

Aramis shared a look with his two friends over d'Artagnan's head before he spoke, "Unfortunately d'Art, you will not always succeed in your missions. Sometimes you are going to fail miserably…its part of the job. We do the best we can, but sometimes mistakes happen, sometimes no matter how hard you try to make things go your way it just doesn't. You need to be prepared for that because it's how you learn, do you know how many mistakes and failed missions we have had?" Aramis looked down at d'Artagnan who shook his head no, "A lot…but that was good because it's how we became so _amazing_ at what we do because we learnt from them, and in the end everything has always worked out". D'Artagnan was nodding his head and appeared to be taking in everything Aramis said.

"That's all true, but whelp you did not fail the Vadim mission…yes it got a lil hectic for a second, but if not for you we would still be searchin' for Vadim and the Queens jewels," Porthos added which gained a small smile from d'Artagnan.

D'Artagnan looked up at Athos then and Athos stared back at him, instead of giving him a long speech of how he did not fail and that missions are teaching tools, Athos simply gave him a small nod…a gesture that spoke a thousand words. The boy smiled brilliantly back and seemed to stand straighter like a weight had been lifted off his back. "You are all right, thank you my friends".

"No thanks needed, remember…no matter what you are never alone and you have your brothers by your side," Aramis ruffled the kid's hair again and dashed quickly away as d'Artagnan took a friendly swing at him.

As the easy banter between all three now started up again Athos thought back to the Vadim mission. How that mission changed so much in their…no _his_ life. He was terrified they had lost the boy then and realized in that moment when he found d'Artagnan still very much alive that the young, self-less, and hot-headed Gascon found a way deep into his closed off heart and he wasn't willing to let him go any time soon. The three of them made a silent vow that night that the boy belonged to their group and that no matter what they would always protect him. Yes, d'Art was turning to be a very capable swordsman and they would trust him with their lives…but he was still _their_ younger brother and they would probably always protect him even when he is much older.

As they entered the gates to the garrison they noted that as dawn approached some of the men were starting to straggle into the courtyard, getting ready for whatever the day was to bring. They quickly made their way up to Treville's office and Athos knocked on the door. They heard the authoritative voice bark a "come in" and Athos led the way into the captain's office the others closely following behind. Once the door shut behind them and all four men were lined up in front of Treville, their captain sat back in his chair like he had a thousand pounds sitting on top of him. Treville had his hand covering half his mouth as if he were deep in thought, struggling to make a decision. His eyes roamed over all of his men until they finally settled on d'Artagnan who shifted uncomfortably next to Porthos at the scrutinization he was receiving.

"Is everything okay Captain?" Aramis asked as all started to now feel uncomfortable with the way Treville was acting.

Treville did not take his eyes off d'Artagnan as he said, "No it's not."

"May I ask what has happened," Athos carefully asked.

Treville sighed then and broke off his staring contest with d'Artagnan, looking at all four in turn, "We have received intelligence that there is a plot forming against His Majesty".

"When is there _not_ a plot formin' against His Majesty," Porthos grumbled back. Both Athos and Treville shot him a glare which cause Porthos to stand even straighter. "Well it's true".

"Porthos does have a point though Captain," Athos looked back to Treville, "there have been many who have tried to bring harm to the royal family, and we have always stopped them…what about this has you so disturbed".

Treville remained quiet for another moment before standing up before his men, "It is not so much the threat that has me concerned, but more so the way we are going to have to get to the source of the threat," Treville stopped in front of d'Artagnan a worried and concerned expression falling over his features that made Athos stomach turn. "It will require all four of you, but mostly you d'Artagnan, I have spent hours trying to come up with another plan but it seems there is only one that could possibly work…and none of you are going to like it".


	2. Chapter 2

To Harm a Brother Chapter 2

**Hello again! Sorry this chapter took so long getting up, I had a little family emergency and did not have much time to write. Hope you all enjoy and I hope to get the next chapter up soon! Let me know what you think!**

"Sir…what exactly is goin' on?" Porthos asked to break the silence that seemed to go on forever once Treville declared that they would all dislike the mission. Aramis glanced worriedly between Treville and d'Artagnan, Athos kept his icy gaze transfixed on their captain not an inch of expression displayed, and d'Artagnan continued to fidget next to him.

Treville turned back to his desk and sat, sighed, and once he looked back up to his men he no longer had an air of worried emotion, but one of only business, they were after all soldiers and not all missions were simple ones.

"We received intelligence last night that a man named Dion is planning a plot to kill the King and Queen and overthrow the throne. We do not have any information on how or when this is supposed to happen, all we know is that this man has many followers and needs to be taken extremely seriously".

"Who is this Dion, do we have any information about him?" Aramis asked.

"We do, his full name is Dion Jandreau, we have been trying to apprehend him for many years now…but have never managed to get our hands on him let alone lay eyes on him," Treville took on a grim expression and continued. "He is wanted for a multitude of crimes including thievery, leading raids on villages, arson…but the most severe is taking young boys and forcing them into _different_ situations."

"What kinds of situations?" D'Artagnan finally spoke up in a serious tone causing the older men in the room to glance at him, but he did not break eye contact with his captain.

"He has been known to sell them into slavery, some he forces to fight gladiator style in his sick _games_ in which his _guests_ place bets on the different boys and are sometimes awarded the winner…and others…others he has kept for himself that he admires or he sells them to the highest bidder that has an attraction to young boys."

All four men visibly became uncomfortable and paled slightly at the thought of what this man was putting countless young boys through, Porthos especially wore a deep frown and looked ready to hit something.

"How can this man get away with this, surely there have been numerous missing boys…someone would have reported this or investigated?" Aramis questioned, also looking particularly angered.

Treville sighed then and rubbed his temple with his hand, it was clear he has been struggling with this man for quite some time, "Dion is an extremely smart and cautious man. From what we have gathered his usual targets are boys who are already slaves in a household where he either kidnaps them or pays their masters to get them off their hands, but we also believe he takes those that are in poverty or street bound."

"So he's takin' kids that the world could care less if they die or go missin'." Porthos grumbled dangerously.

"If a noble's slave went missing most would think they either ran away or got murdered which is not uncommon, and those he buys off nobles…well that's easy money, many do not care enough for their servants to worry whom they are selling to if the price is right." Athos concluded a bit too calmly.

"And streets kids are worth less than nothin' to the higher class, if anythin' they are happy for this Dion to take them off the streets", growled Porthos while he clenched and unclenched his fists turning the knuckles white.

Aramis turned compassionate eyes to Porthos and put a gentle hand on his friend's shoulder to help calm him, "Not all think the poor to be a nuisance Porthos, many see the potential in them and who they could become. We will catch and stop this man so that he doesn't take away a potential bright future" Aramis was obviously referring to Porthos himself, once a street kid himself he grew to become one of the best musketeers in the regimen today, Aramis and the others knew this situation was hitting close to home for Porthos. Porthos gave Aramis a small grateful smile and visibly relaxed.

Now that Porthos was no longer a danger to demolishing their captain's office Athos picked the conversation back up, his usual stoic self still not showing an ounce of emotion. "Why would this man want to kill the king and queen? What would he gain from this?"

"Dion's actions and crimes have grown more severe as the years have gone on, it is not surprising he is planning a plot at all. I cannot say what he would gain from removing the king and queen from power, but many of his followers are corrupt nobles and crime lords themselves. All of which could easily be coerced into this plan and who think they could gain from it". Treville replied.

"Do we have the informant? Surly, he would know more information or know of someone that could give us better insight?" Aramis asked calmly.

Treville sighed once again and ran his hand over his mouth before he spoke, "This information was given to me by the cardinal himself. He reported one of his informants wrote him and he received the letter only a day ago by a gentleman who had been hired to deliver the letter. I asked the cardinal if we could bring in the informant to question him…but apparently according to the cardinal the informant died as he was giving the letter to the messenger."

"Yes…because the cardinal is always so honest." Aramis droned out.

"Although the cardinal is not to be trusted, he is loyal to the crown and France. I cannot see him lying about a plot to kill the king." Treville retorted back.

The room became silent then as all men were contemplating what action to take. "So we obviously need to find Dion and his group, arrest them, and bring them in for questioning. It is nothing we haven't done before," D'Artagnan finally spoke up, looking much more comfortable than before.

"And how would be go about catching this man D'Artagnan? We have just been informed that our regimen has been trying to apprehend them for years," Athos bent forward enough to fix his gaze on his protégé. He was proud that the boy was willing to take on such a mission, but also annoyed that he seemed to not be listening to a thing their captain has told them.

D'Artagnan locked eyes with his mentor, his stubborn fiery nature rising up once again, "Yes, the regimen may have been trying for years, but _we_ have never been assigned and there wasn't this kind of urgency before."

Athos glare darkened, "You cannot be so confident in ourselves alone, if the regiment has had trouble there is little more that we would be able to do. Use your head D'Artagnan and think before you speak, being arrogant in your or our skills will only get us all killed in situations like this".

D'Artagnan looked away then and stared at an apparently very interesting floor board, his thoughts immediately going back to the Vadim incident in which he thought he could handle _that_ situation so well and it turned out he was being doped from the start and could have cost the king and queen very much. Every time his friends tried to make him feel better about the incident, something like this moment would bring back his doubts all over again. Why did Athos always have to lay out all his faults for all to see?

Athos had resumed his previous posture before he reprimanded D'Artagnan, on the outside he looked as if nothing just happened, but on the inside he was warring with himself. He knew D'Artagnan was just trying to turn a dark situation into something lighter and was ready to start the mission, but being overly confident could get him killed. He was constantly leading with his heart and never using his head. He knew what he said would have brought up the memories of Vadim for D'Artagnan, and that seed of doubt would start growing within him once more. Although, he knew that D'Artagnan did not fail that mission at all and in fact he was very proud of how he handled the situation…he did hope the boy would learn from it and realize that part of the reason he landed in that position was because of his over confident nature.

Aramis and Porthos glanced at their leader and their youngest, feeling the tension in the air, but Treville quickly drew everyone's attention to him once more. "It is true that we have been trying for years to apprehend Dion Jandreau, every time we get close or discover a base they have already fled. Like I said, he has many followers and it is impossible to tell who is with him and who isn't, therefore he has informants that notify him once we are close." D'Artagnan hung his head after this statement and Porthos and Aramis both groaned knowing this was going to be a difficult mission to tackle. "But D'Artagnan was right about one thing. We never had the urgency to find him before like we do now, we have only ever sent out the bare minimum of musketeers to find Dion as we have always had much more pressing matters to deal with."

"Captain, you said you had a plan already in mind to flush Dion out right?" Aramis asked and Treville hesitantly answered by nodding which put the men on edge once more.

"I do, and like I said none of you…myself included, are going to like it. It was the only plan I could think of that would most likely get us near enough to Dion to arrest him."

"If you have this plan, why have you never used it before?" D'Artagnan asked still not even glancing at his mentor.

Treville locked eyes again with D'Artagnan, seeming to have a battle inside. Soon though it seemed one side won that battle and Treville stood up and placed himself in front of the young Gascon placing one hand on his shoulder. "Because we never had you before D'Artagnan".

D'Artagnan continued to remain eye contact with his captain a pure look of confusion sweeping over his features. His three elder brothers were all staring at the two of them, D'Artagnan's look of confusion mirrored on their faces…all except one. Typically, Athos the strategist, was the first to figure out a situation like this…but today Porthos was fast to understand why their captain was so hesitant in revealing his plan and why he was so focused on their youngest. In a flash Porthos quickly found himself between D'Artagnan and Treville one hand keeping the boy behind him. An almost feral growl came from the giant man, one that all in the room have never once heard against one of their own. "No." He rumbled out while glaring daggers at Treville.

Athos and Aramis were the first to break out of their surprise from Porthos's actions and both moved to Porthos ready to stop him from doing anything he would regret. Treville seemed unfazed by this and almost looked as if he expected this turn of events. D'Artagnan was still protectively placed behind Porthos and looked even more confused than before.

"Porthos be calm my friend," Aramis for the second time this morning tried to calm his friend by placing a hand on his arm. "This is Treville, let him explain what his plan is. I'm sure whatever you are thinking is not correct." Porthos didn't break eye contact with Treville and appeared to not even hear his oldest friend.

"No Aramis, I think Porthos understands exactly what my plan is…save a few details." Treville moved from Porthos and sat back at his desk, not at all fazed by his best brawler's aggressive behavior.

Porthos remained where he was, one hand still grasping onto D'Artagnan upper arm firmly keeping him in place. Aramis looked worriedly between Porthos and Treville, and Athos turned back to his captain trying to keep his emotions in check as a terrible feeling started growing inside him. "Please explain Captain." Athos stated in his no-nonsense voice.

"I told you all that Dion takes a fancy in young boys and that his business with them is his main one at this time," Treville started to explain as D'Artagnan pushed Porthos slightly off him so he could see what was going on. "I have been trying to find a way to get close to Dion…but all our methods in the past have failed. The most obvious is to send someone in undercover, someone we can trust, and someone Dion will definitely not turn away. We cannot take an innocent civilian and put him in this situation for multiple reasons…and we do not have any young men in the regimen that can pass for a boy still." As Treville continued to speak the terrible feeling Athos had continued to grow as he began to understand what Treville had in mind and could now see why Porthos acted as he did. Porthos continued to hold D'Artagnan and glare menacingly at Treville, Aramis looked at their captain with an almost unbelieving look, and D'Artagnan was slowly starting to understand why he was needed so.

"D'Artagnan is our youngest recruit by far, and although he has proven himself many times to be a man worth the honor of being called a musketeer…he is still young enough and has the features to pass for a boy in his late adolescence. He is exactly what Dion would take a fancy in, more so since he is healthy and strong".

Treville paused and looked at all his men who wore different expressions of anger, concern, fear, and confusion. D'Artagnan completely freed himself from his largest brother and stepped forward. "Captain, are you asking me to go under cover as one of Dion's _boys_ in order to get the information we need to find him and arrest him? Is that the plan?"

"Yes, D'Artagnan that is my plan exactly." Treville stated. Porthos gave a low growl, Aramis shifted looking very conflicted, and Athos now looked ready to explode.

D'Artagnan paused and looked down seeming to think hard about this situation, within seconds he looked back at his captain determined. "Alright, so how do we get me inside."

"What?! Absolutely not! Do you know what undercover in this situation means D'Artagnan? Did you not hear anything that the Captain told you this man does to these boys?" Athos now rounded on D'Artagnan a desperate rage emitting from him. He knew exactly what kind of horrors D'Artagnan could be exposed to, and after the Vadim incident where he and his brothers came so close to losing their new brother, he could not fathom placing him in this situation again.

D'Artagnan looked to Athos and his other two brothers, he saw the worry and concern in their features, and knew if the situation were reversed he would feel exactly the same they were. He plastered a calm and confident mask over his features and calmly stated, "I do understand and I heard clearly what Treville said…but the musketeers go undercover all the time and it's not always safe. I don't want to do this, but if this is our only option and the king and queen's lives are at risk then we don't have a choice."

"We have only just heard this situation; we can think of another plan." Athos stated trying to make his voice sound like an order not an idea.

"Athos, the captain has been dealing with this for years and has not been able to come up with a plan that has worked. I know you are a great strategist, but I don't think that if he hasn't found a solution besides this one then we wont either." Stated D'Artagnan who was slowly becoming irritated with his mentor once again but trying to keep his cool all the while cursing his quick Gascon temper.

Athos was about to retort when Treville cleared his throat to get the attention of his now wayward men, "Gentlemen, I understand your concerns. I would not have suggested this plan if I had not thought through all the other options. I do not like this anymore than you do, but we are the king's soldiers and have to act as such even when we do not like what we hear. D'Artagnan, you are not yet a soldier under my command you are still a recruit, I cannot force you to do anything. Just like every mission you have participated in so far the choice is yours if you want to do this or not."

D'Artagnan looked at his friends once more and knew none of them would like his answer, but he also knew if the roles were reversed they would go undercover for their king and queen in a heartbeat. "I accept Captain. I am more than willing to help in protecting their majesties."

Athos stared at some point behind Treville, he knew what D'Artagnan's answer would be well before the question was even asked. Their youngest was extremely loyal and would do anything asked of him if it meant protecting someone in need. Athos was proud of him…but also terrified of losing his new brother. Porthos rage had calmed significantly since Athos and D'Artagnan's argument and now was looking down defeated, and Aramis continued wear an expression of worry.

"Very good D'Artagnan, now take a seat so we can discuss how we are going to put this in motion. We have much to do and very little time." Treville waved at them to pull up a seat from around the room.

D'Artagnan grabbed the nearest to him and sat not looking at his brothers, "Than let's get started."


End file.
